Progress has been made, but much work remains along the path to ERO completion.
FERC demonstrated strong leadership in meeting the aggressive timeline set by Congress for establishing the regulatory basis on which the Electric Reliability Organization will be created. But next summer’s peak-demand season is fast approaching. And much more work remains ahead for the industry to finish the job.
And its impact on power generation.
While oil and gas prices now are falling after the latest experience with fuel-price volatility, the Global Energy Decision fuels team is focused on modeling an integrated world-wide system of fuel relationships encompassing crude oil, natural gas, coal, and increasingly, synfuels to help our clients assess the implications of fuel-price swings on their businesses. Let’s look at the potential impacts and implications of this growing reliance on liquefied natural gas for North America’s power-generation demand.
Mixed signals leave developers wary of building new infrastructure.
FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher gives mixed signals that leave developers wary of committing to investments in new infrastructure, given his clear desire to affect positive change, while appearing to argue for policy decisions that are politically safe but arguably inconsistent.
Robert Garvin, MAJ, TC, 3RD Corps Support Command: Serving here and seeing how poor the people of Iraq are after 30 years of a dictatorship is truly life changing. You would not believe the electricity challenges they face here. In a country of over 25 million people, Iraq has only about 5,000 MW of electricity at any given time.
Daniel Simon decided to investigate how much the extra heat of incandescent light bulbs over CFLs might cost a customer in air-conditioning cooling costs, compared to an analysis in “Squeezing BTUs From Light Bulbs.”
How to sort out strategies and weather the storm.
Unless embraced as an integral part of the business strategy, risk management is nothing more than a bureaucratic exercise that lulls the management and directors into a false sense of security.
In search of the Holy Grail of utility risk management.
The search is on for the Holy Grail of risk management. Utilities are managing new risks, as more sophisticated systems and services become available.
How to maintain continuous power supply while measuring for weak spots.
Failures in medium-voltage power cables and their components cause a large proportion of annual power service interruptions, especially in high-density urban areas. Locating and repairing weak areas in cables at an early stage can improve the reliability of the energy supply considerably. Partial discharge testing is a proven condition assessment/test methodology.
Stage-by-stage advice from an M&A veteran.
Company leaders should expect to go through at least one company merger. If you’re in the energy industry, it’s time to begin pre-deal initiatives.
Significant value waits to be unlocked through consolidation, but conventional approaches have been inadequate.
Can consolidation create sustainable long-term value, or will it prove seductive but, ultimately, disappointing to shareholders, employees, customers, and management alike?
As rate disallowances become more commonplace and capital requirements expand, infrastructure development will come with a higher price tag.
As the industry’s regulatory risks and capital requirements expand, financing will come with a higher price tag—and another cost pressure in the ratemaking process.